Breton artist Émilie Tiersen – aka
QUINQUIS – today shares
AER, a new 6-track EP to coincide with her ongoing European tour. The EP consists of five recently recorded new compositions and one unlikely cover, Berlin’s Moroder-penned classic track
“Take My Breath Away.” Of the cover, Emilie says it was initially recorded
“…almost as a joke. I was lying on a hospital bed, in the COVID section. I had been evacuated from my island as I couldn’t breathe properly. I spent a week in that hospital room, seeing only doctors. At some point, as my worried friends were trying to get some news from me, I just sent them ‘Take my breath away’ and swore ‘If I can recover from this, I’ll do a cover of that song.’” Listen to the
AER EP
here.
Also out today is a video for new song “Tres.” When asked about the track, Émilie explained,
“Writing about ‘Tres’ makes me a bit shy. It feels like returning to the little girl I was, the one that was hiding her feelings to pretend to be stronger and happier than she actually was. This song is unfortunately about so many people… someone I really care for and the dark childhood he went through. Little boys and girls I saw drawing nice pictures at school while I knew they were going through hard times they didn’t even know how to express. The people my brother meet when he’s working for the “childhood protection.” The title is ‘Tres,’ which means ‘Draw.’ It’s an invitation to express what we don’t dare say.” Watch the video for “Tres”
here.
The
AER EP is the latest release in a busy year for the Breton artist whose debut album for Mute,
SEIM, came out in May. This summer, Émilie shared two incredible remixes:
Phew’s remix of
“Netra Ken” and
Keeley Forsyth’s take on
“Adkrog.” QUINQUIS’ 2022 tour kicked off with a performance at Sea Change Festival and a series of dates with Algiers before continuing throughout September and October. Full details below.
SEIM is available on clear vinyl, CD, and digital platforms. Stream and purchase
SEIM here.
MORE ABOUT QUINQUISSEIM forges a deep connection to Émilie’s own culture, history, and identity. It also saw Émilie work with a new sonic palette after several albums released as Tiny Feet. Once these ideas began to mutate into something more musical, she connected with producer and artist
Gareth Jones (Sunroof, Liars, Depeche Mode and Apparat).
“The record revealed itself in the back-and-forth Gareth and I had,” she says.
“It was really unexpected because Gareth and I are quite the opposite - he was the light to my darkness.” This sense of interconnectedness leads to the album being a multifaceted one. It is deeply personal and introspective yet also collaborative and expansive. It is rooted in both historical and modern stories. It is an album that connects worlds while being entirely its own. The result is an album that merges sparse electronics, immersive atmospherics, and deft melodies, carried by Émilie’s tender yet quietly soaring vocals, which are all sung in Breton.
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